The future of microbiome analysis: Biosensor methods for big data collection and clinical diagnostics

Abstract

Worldwide interest in the human microbiome is rapidly expanding, as the microbiome is a potential key to understanding human health and improving diagnostic and treatment strategies. A wide array of microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, unicellular/multicellular eukaryotes (i.e. fungi and helminths) and viruses, colonize on the human body. Their activity and interactions with each other impact their host (Rowan-Nash, Korry, Mylonakis, & Belenky, 2019). Although sometimes used interchangeably, the word 'microbiota' refers to the collective community of microorganisms residing in a particular environment (such as a region of the body), whereas the word 'microbiome' refers to the entirety of this community's genetic information (Allaband et al., 2019; Kuczynski et al., 2012). The different regions of the human body contain various combinations of microbes that could provide information not only about infectious diseases at specific sites, but also about the potential health conditions of a person (Mimee et al., 2018). It is remarkable to consider that, according to recently revised estimates, the human body houses approximately as many bacteria (the most abundant member of the microbiota) as human cells, with bacteria comprising 0.3% of total body mass (Sender, Fuchs, & Milo, 2016). According to the

Modified Nanodiamonds as a Means of Polymer Surface Functionalization. From Fouling Suppression to Biosensor Design

“…An actively growing area is the application of biosensor technologies, together with integrated machine learning algorithms, that allow the collection of huge amounts of data. Such systems are the future of microbiome analysis, and they can be used, in particular, in a clinical setting for more accurate and rapid diagnosis [49,50]. The approach demonstrated in this work makes it possible to easily and quickly isolate the microbiome on the surface of the sensor and perform the necessary studies of its substrate specificity or resistance to toxic effects.…”

Toward Next Generation Lateral Flow Assays: Integration of Nanomaterials

“…Data handling has also appeared as a bottleneck when using multiplexed sensors. This has resulted in an increase in papers in recent years focusing on the development of software for the analysis and interpretation of large data sets in multiplexed diagnostics …”

“…This has resulted in an increase in papers in recent years focusing on the development of software for the analysis and interpretation of large data sets in multiplexed diagnostics. 114 In this section, we will review recent advances and technologies that have been developed to address the aforementioned challenges in multiplexed LFA development. These involve the design of new LFA architectures/ functionalities or the use of novel signal transduction mechanisms (Table 3).…”

Electrochemical (Bio)Sensing Devices for Human Microbiome Related Biomarkers

“…For instance, extensive investigations on the gut microbiome have demonstrated the association of numerous diseases and conditions (gastrointestinal or otherwise) with altered levels of intestinal microbes and related biomarkers. The results of these studies are considered an essential tool of personalized medicine by offering interesting solutions for a variety of autoimmune and metabolic illnesses and improving diagnostic and treatment strategies [3]. Microbial cells are mostly located in the gut (around 60%), with a prominent role for the microbiome gut-brain axis and the gastrointestinal tract and to a lesser extent in the oral and nasal cavities, skin and genital surfaces (Figure 1).…”

“…The potential of biosensors to bring the study of the microbiome into the realms of clinical diagnostics and mass data collection was reviewed [3]. More recently, Yadav et al [5] reviewed the advances of electrochemical sensors involving nanomaterials for clinically associated human and gut metabolites, including those from microbiome.…”